1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for delivering data resources to a terminal device, and more specifically to a method for delivering resources to a portable handy information communications terminal.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, various methods of efficiently delivering data resources (hereinafter referred to simply as “resources”) such as software programs, data, etc. to a terminal device have been suggested and put to practical use.
For example, a method (Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-21100) of reducing the number of terminal devices which cannot receive resources by repeatedly broadcasting resources to a terminal devices from a delivering source system several times, a method (Japanese Patent Publication No. 9-146858) of generating a terminal device list for reaching a terminal device to which resources have to be delivered by referring to a relay information entered in advance, and sequentially transferring the list with the resources to an adjacent relay system, etc. are well known.
However, in the method described in these publications, the configuration in which a mobile terminal (portable handy information communications terminal) is used as a destination terminal device to which resources are to be delivered has not been taken into account.
A method of delivering resources to a mobile terminal can be, for example, a system (Japanese Patent Publication No. 9-245666) of receiving resources from a delivering source system through a relay device when relay devices exist between the delivering source system and a mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal enters a radio area of any relay system, etc.
However, when it is not considered that a destination terminal device to which resources are to be delivered is a mobile terminal, the following problem occurs when the terminal device moves.
Basically, since a resource delivering route is predetermined such that the optimum resource delivery can be attained between a source system and a destination terminal device when the destination terminal device is connected to a network at a predetermined location, the resource delivering efficiency is lowered if the terminal device is moved to another location.
In a system where several relay devices exist between a delivering source system and a destination terminal device, it has not been possible to recognize onto which relay device the resources requested by a user of the destination terminal device has been downloaded has not been provided even on the assumption that the terminal device can select an available relay device. Therefore, the destination terminal sometimes can not receive the resources.
In a system to which resources are periodically delivered (for example, a push-type newspaper delivering system), a terminal device may not obtain the resources if it moves from a predetermined location to another location.
Furthermore, even in a method used on the assumption that a destination terminal device to which resources are to be delivered can be moved, the following problems occur.
To receive resources at a moved-to location, it is necessary for a terminal device to request a delivering source system to deliver the resources after having arrived at the moved-to location. Therefore, when there is a large amount of data of the resources to be delivered, it takes a long time to obtain desired resources after arriving a destination.
In the system for delivering resources at a request from a terminal device, there is a fee for the communications between the terminal device and a relay system during the transfer of the resources from a delivering source system to the relay device. Therefore, a wasteful communications cost is required when a large amount of data of resources is delivered.